Swan Songs
by Crimson Darkness8
Summary: When Emma is feeling unbearably alone she lets her magic run wild, which has the unintended side effect of summoning Regina to her. A collection of connected one shots inspired by music that makes me think of swan queen. Picks up where 5x05 left off.


Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, I'm just borrowing them to clear my mind.

A/N: Here's another one. Something a little different from what I usually do. This is a collection of connected one shots inspired by music that makes me think of Swan Queen (which is most music nowadays). This first one came to me right after 5x05. Contains a little Stable Queen and some SwanFire but this entire fic is Swan Queen all the way. Hope you enjoy.

Swan Songs

Hello - Adele

Emma stormed through the back door of her new home with long, determined strides, a dozen or so dreamcatchers clutched under her arm. Her night had gone drastically off course and she was in desperate need of distraction.

The worst part, the _infuriating_ part was that she _hadn't_ seen any of it coming.

 _How could you be so naïve as to think Regina wouldn't find a way past your protection spell._ The Darkness sneered in her head. _How could you be so_ careless _as to leave a dreamcatcher out in the open?_ The _dreamcatcher at that._

Emma glared at the simple box that had hidden the dreamcatcher as if it were the sole reason she was stuck in this mess. Now _her_ dreamcatcher was probably locked away safe and sound in Regina's house somewhere. With Henry, whom Regina hadn't even given her the _chance_ to explain herself to.

 _And you just know Regina has twice as many wards set in place to_ ensure _you stay out._ The Darkness taunted.

The small box burst into flames before quickly turning to cinders under Emma's murderous wrath and she had to take a deep breath, abruptly cutting off her roiling emotions at the source.

No.

She would not give in to the rage, the Darkness demanding that she _take_ retribution for the wrong that hand been done.

 _How dare they defy The Dark One, how dare they defy_ you _?_

Emma closed her eyes against the voice in her head. She would _not_ lash out in anger over this. The chances of the end result, _perhaps a dwarves head on a spike, the happy one_ , would only draw more attention to her, most likely derailing her plans ever further. And _that_ she could not, _would not_ allow.

She looked over the dreamcatchers she'd chosen once more as she entered her living room before giving a careless wave of her hand. Instantly all of the furniture in her living room disappeared and were replaced with a gleaming black grand piano, the dreamcatchers now strategically placed along the walls on the first floor of her home and up the staircase.

She moved to sit at the piano, her mind beginning to wonder again. Her day had been off to such a great start, _just as you planned it_. Talking about Neal, solving mysteries with her son, witnessing just how much he'd grown, it had been perfect. It was supposed to have been even more so when she knocked at 108 Mifflin Street that night.

Things might have been tense at first, but Henry would've backed her up and Regina would've reluctantly let her in. From there she could've regaled Regina with the tale of Henry's bravery and valor. Henry might be coy about it, or he might not he was growing so fast, and Emma would finally explain who this girl was that Regina was constantly hearing of but knew nothing about, and everything would've been just fine. They could've been a family again, like they had been in Camelot, like they'd finally become _before_ Camelot.

 _Certainly, if you simply ignore the fact that everyone in this town_ including _Regina is trying to destroy you._

A sour note rent the air, effectively cutting off her thoughts, and when she looked she noted that she'd pressed on one of the pristine white piano keys with an unnecessary amount of force.

Forcing herself to relax, she pressed the key again, this time with a more delicate touch and the melodic sound rang through the air. She pressed another and she finally started to calm down.

Despite a few minor setbacks, it had been a good day. The look on Henry's face when he'd brought Violet's horse back to her had been priceless, and talking with him about Neal had awoken a feeling of nostalgia in her. A feeling she was drawing upon now as she constructed what she wanted to do in her mind's eye.

'Only You' would always be something special that she shared with Neal, but as she was driving her bug home that afternoon, a song played on the radio that resonated within her. She pressed another piano key as she recalled the memory, and her magic swelled in anticipation. She was sure Regina would have nothing good to say about the amount of dark magic she was conjuring, but Regina wasn't exactly talking to her right then, and she was the Dark One.. She could do what she wanted, when she wanted, and there was no one on the planet who could stop her from getting what she wanted. And right then, what she wanted most was not to be alone without her family.

The dreamcatchers glimmered to life around her as she began playing the melody she'd heard earlier. Streams of dark magic flowed throughout her home, dipping into the dreamcatchers and drawing from the memories held within before moving on. Emma's desire drove the magic on, filling her house with the amplified sound of the tune she played. It whirled around her before solidifying on the bench beside her and she smiled when the darkness receded to reveal Henry sitting next to her in the clothes he'd been wearing that day. He smiled back at her, his hands raising to join hers in playing the song in her head. Only now the words were being sung all around them, reaching every corner of the house.

 _Hello, it's me  
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet  
To go over everything  
They say that time's supposed to heal ya, but I ain't done much healing_

Emma let the words wash over her, her triggered emotions coaxing streams of magic to crawl up the stairs and out of sight. She conjured the image she wanted to see most at that moment, her fingers dancing alongside Henry's over the keys effortlessly. When she caught movement out of the corner of her eye she looked to the top of the stairs, her features softening as Regina came into sight.

Unlike the Henry she'd conjured, Emma chose to have Regina as she had been the night of the ball in Camelot. Every detail was exactly the same. The dress, the make-up, the hair, even the timid smile she'd graced everyone with after being presented, though she did leave the enchanted necklace out.

Emma rose to her feet, her eyes only for Regina as she absentmindedly patted Henry's shoulder, leaving the piano to him and her magic. Regina had looked so beautiful that night in Camelot, she looked beautiful _now_ , and in that moment, just like back then, all Emma wanted to do was dance with her.

 _Hello, can you hear me?  
I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be  
When we were younger and free  
I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet_

Emma stopped at the bottom of the steps, patiently waiting for Regina to come to her. Just as Emma's eyes stayed glued to her every move, Regina's eyes stayed locked on her, as if Emma was the only thing that mattered in that moment. She stared at her the way Emma wished she had that night, but Emma hand long since learned that wishes didn't come true. _No. You have to_ take _what you want_.

Emma shook her head faintly. None of that mattered right now. Not when she was so close to living out one of her fantasies as Regina stopped two steps above her.

Emma took one of her hands and bowed, pressing a soft kiss to delicate knuckles.

"Emma." Regina sighed with a heartfelt smile and Emma shivered. It always felt so good to hear Regina say her name, especially when they weren't fighting. Especially when Regina wasn't trying to mock her with it.

 _There's such a difference between us  
And a million miles_

Emma started to frown as the events of the evening started to crowd in on her, Regina's taunting 'Em-ma' echoing in her head until the Regina she'd conjured pulled her hand out of Emma's grip to caress her face instead.

"Emma." She called again, drawing Emma's eyes to hers as she cupped her cheek, successfully breaking through her thoughts. "Care to dance?"

Emma's face broke into a big smile as she got swept up in the magic again.

"It would be my greatest pleasure." She promised before wrapping one arm around Regina's waist, sweeping her off the stairs and into a graceful waltz, their hands joining again with ease.

 _Hello from the other side  
I must've called a thousand times  
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done  
But when I call you never seem to be home_

 _Hello from the outside_  
 _At least I can say that I've tried_  
 _To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart_  
 _But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart_  
 _Anymore_

Outside Emma's house Regina stood very still as she tried to straighten out her disoriented thoughts. One moment she'd been on her way to her bedroom after checking on Henry one last time before bed, the next moment magic was swirling around her until she was standing on the walkway in front of Emma's house.

How had that happened? Had Emma summoned her? If so, why was she alone outside? Emma had to know that Regina didn't want to see her right then, so what would be the point?

That's when Regina first noticed the muffled sound of music coming from the house. But what _really_ caught her attention was the amount of magic in the air. It sparked across her skin, tickled her nose, and settled on the back of her tongue, cinnamon with a hint of the darkness she knew so well.

Emma.

Instantly Regina knew this was what had drawn her here. Whatever Emma was doing inside her house took a great deal of magic and her own magic was thrumming in her veins at the mere thought of it. Her magic remembered what it was like to intertwine with Emma's raw power. _She_ remembered what it was like, and couldn't resist being drawn in, even if it was just to make sure Emma wasn't casting another curse, or something else of catastrophic proportions.

 _Hello, how are you?  
It's so typical of me to talk about myself, I'm sorry  
I hope that you're well  
Did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened?_

Regina had no trouble getting inside and she figured it was because Emma was already home. Protection spells must seem pretty trivial when the Dark One was present with all her power at her disposal, Regina mused before frowning. Emma may have really screwed up in Camelot but it didn't feel right to refer to her as the Dark One, even in her own thoughts.

The music was much louder inside the house, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere, and thankfully masking Regina's entrance. She didn't know what mood she would find Emma in, and thought it best to tread carefully.

However she forgot about all of that when she spotted Henry sitting in front of a piano, blissfully unaware of anything around as he contributed to the music in the air. How was it possible that Henry was here when she'd just left him sleeping fitfully in his bed? Had Emma summoned _him_ here?

Regina started to see red at the very notion and was on the verge of storming through the house in search of the once Savior when she stopped short. The very woman she was looking for had just waltzed into view, literally, but that wasn't what had stunned Regina. It was the doppleganger of herself that Emma was dancing with that brought all of her thought processes to a grinding halt. It was the happy expression on Emma's face as she danced with the copy. She looked like she didn't have a single worry. She looked _free_ and Regina found that she could not look away.

That's when Emma noticed her. She and the clone came to a stop instantly, Emma's expressive face closing itself off in the blink of an eye. She stood stiffly, much like before, every muscle in her body coiled tightly as she watched Regina.

 _It's no secret that the both of us  
Are running out of time_

Regina looked around the room again, magic shimmering in the air, and saw the display for what it really was. She supposed as far as distractions went it could've been worse. Regina _had_ done worse once upon a time. She was also relieved to find that Henry wasn't actually there acting as if everything were fine between him and Emma, her ire coming to a simmer. She glanced at the blonde again.

If this was what kept Emma from burning Storybrooke to the ground, Regina wouldn't hold it against her. But she wouldn't let Emma try to find a tiny kernel of joy in the darkness that surrounded her with an illusion of herself. It was too much like being alone in her darkest hour and Regina didn't want that for Emma.

Regina would only do something about it just this once though, because she was still so very angry with Emma, and so very disappointed. But she didn't want to think about that right then.

She waved her hand, the clone disappearing in a cloud of purple dust, and in the next second she was standing in the copy's place. Emma adjusted naturally before she was leading Regina around the space in her living room, picking up where she'd left off without a moment's hesitation.

 _So hello from the other side  
I must've called a thousand times  
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done  
But when I call you never seem to be home_

Emma couldn't take her eyes off of Regina. She wasn't sure how the other woman had come to be there, willingly dancing with her, but she didn't want to miss a single moment.

She would say it was a solid bet that she'd gotten pretty damn good at magic, the copies she'd made of her family nearly perfect, but there was something about having _Regina_ in her arms that she just couldn't replicate. She was so soft and warm, her mahogany eyes so alive and vibrant. If she looked close enough she could even see particles of Regina's magic flaring to life in her eyes like microscopic fireflies. They'd been like that from the moment she and Regina first touched and she wondered if Regina could see the way they're magic exploded around them.

There were glittering starbursts, purple and blue fireworks, and miniature supernovas that splattered the walls with translucence that spanned every color of the spectrum. The dreamcatchers hummed to life under the thrall of their mingling, uncontrolled magic and soon the space around them was shimmering until they were dancing around a very lifelike replica of the grand ballroom in Camelot, complete with musical accompaniment and copies of the other people that had been there, dressed in their finest, dancing all around them.

 _Hello from the outside  
At least I can say that I've tried  
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart  
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart  
Anymore, ooooohh  
Anymore, ooooohh  
Anymore, ooooohh  
Anymore, anymore_

Even then they didn't take their eyes off of each other, not until they instinctively changed partners and Regina found herself in a pair of shockingly familiar arms. Arms that held her like they knew and loved every single part of her, and when she looked at her partner in question, her heart stopped as she came face to face with Daniel, her once true love.

Regina's breath came to an abrupt stop as she stilled, eyes widening, but he just smiled.

"Daniel? Wha-? _How_?" She asked bewildered even as she was in the process of turning to Emma in search of answers. When she did spot the blonde not too far away, she was even further surprised to find Emma dancing with Baelfire, though Emma didn't seem to be similarly affected.

She was smiling, though her chin quivered and her lips trembled, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she nodded fervently at whatever Baelfire was telling her.

"Regina." Daniel called in a voice full of warmth, drawing all of her attention back to him. "May I have this dance?"

Regina's stilted nod was automatic, as were her corresponding steps once they fell in time with the music again, but Regina was too bewildered to do anything but stare at the man she thought she would never see, hear, or _touch_ again. He just felt so _real_ in her arms; so perfect, so _right_ , as if he'd never left them.

"How is this possible?" She finally managed to whisper in a barely there voice, one hand leaving his shoulder to touch his face, prompting his loving smile to widen.

" _Magic_ Regina," he answered with muted enthusiasm. "The most powerful magic of all."

"It can overcome anything." She finished for him, the remembered words erasing all the time they'd been apart until Regina couldn't tell whether she was that young girl meeting her lover for a secret rendezvous under her apple tree, or if she were the woman who'd lost him and tore down everything around her as a result. When their lips finally met it was without thought. It was instinct, and desire, and _love_ as she pulled him as close to her as possible.

For one brief moment Regina felt truly at peace, and then reality came crashing down on her as she remembered that Daniel was dead and that none of this was real. It was magic. Her magic, Emma's magic, _their_ magic. But before a single tear could fall, Daniel was leading her into a spin.

 _Hello from the other side  
I must've called a thousand times  
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done  
But when I call you never seem to be home_

By the time she was wrapped in a steady hold again it was all she could do to stay on her feet as sorrow overwhelmed her, causing her to hide her face in a soft, leather clad shoulder as tears overtook her. Strong arms drew her closer as she was led around the room, the body she was held close to exuding a comforting warmth.

When she finally looked up again she was only mildly surprised to see that she was dancing with Emma again. It hadn't felt quite the same as when she'd been in Daniel's arms, but the same sense of peace and safety had persisted. She took in stoic, red rimmed eyes that shone with understanding and something that seemed so very familiar yet so completely new deep inside pale green eyes that she found she couldn't look away. Contrary to that, she was leaning closer to get a better look, the hand not being held by Emma's reaching up to curve around the side of the blonde's neck, gently tugging her closer.

When their lips met it was without thought. It was instinct, and desire, and fulfilled longing, their lips coming together again and again as they experienced the wonder of finally kissing one another. Emma could feel magic swelling insider her like nothing she'd ever felt before, but just before it could burst from her, undoubtedly changing everything she'd been and had become, Regina jerked away abruptly, taking a few steps back to put some distance between them.

One look at her stricken expression told Emma everything she needed to know. Regina had felt the magic too, but she didn't believe what it meant, what it _could_ mean for the both of them.

 _Hello from the outside  
At least I can say that I've tried  
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart  
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart  
Anymore_

Emma straightened as she watched Regina shake her head in disbelief, her eyes wide and shining with fresh tears as she took a few more steps away from her.

"I can't." Came her faint whisper before she disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, the enchantments they'd created falling to stardust all around Emma, leaving only the now silent piano. With a wave of her hand that too fell to ashes.

As for Emma, she stayed rooted to the spot, trying her hardest not to feel anything. So when the Darkness spoke up out of nowhere, Emma was actually relieved at the intrusion.

 _Well,_ that's _certainly a keeper._

Emma couldn't agree more, not needing him to elaborate, and called forth her magic. She raised her hand, palm up, and concentrated on drawing on all the emotions she'd been trying to keep from feeling from. She watched, mildly enthralled as thin streams of dark magic pulled together above her hand in unique, intricate designs until a newly formed dreamcatcher was hovering in front of her.

She plucked it out of the air with care, waving her free hand absently and sending the other dreamcatchers back where they belonged as she stared intently at the one in her hand. She would watch it, _experience_ it again before finding a place for it with the others. She'd let herself feel what it was like to be truly loved by Regina Mills just one more time, and then she would put her dreams away.


End file.
